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48-476: Phoenix Technologies Ltd. is an American company that designs, develops and supports core system software for personal computers and other computing devices. The company's products – commonly referred to as BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) or firmware  – support and enable the compatibility, connectivity, security and management of the various components and technologies used in such devices. Phoenix Technologies and IBM developed

96-464: A company called Quintessential Consultants Inc. (QCI), and later set up an equal partnership with Shankar. By this time the AMIBIOS had become established and there was a need to keep the initials AMI. The partners renamed QCI as American Megatrends Inc., with the same initials as Access Methods Inc.; the renamed company then purchased AMIBIOS from Access Methods. Shankar became the president and Sarma

144-501: A job function that is more accurately termed systems administrator . Software tools these employees use are then called system software. This utility software helps to analyze, configure, optimize and maintain the computer, such as virus protection. The term system software can also include software development tools (like a compiler , linker , or debugger ). System software of video game consoles AMI BIOS American Megatrends International, LLC , doing business as AMI ,

192-456: A non-exclusive license for Seattle Computer Products 86-DOS . Phoenix developed customized versions of 86-DOS (or sometimes called PDOS for Phoenix DOS ) for various microprocessor platforms. Phoenix also provided PMate as a replacement for Edlin as the DOS file editor. Phoenix also developed C language libraries , called PForCe, along with Plink-86/Plink-86plus, overlay linkers, and Pfix-86,

240-427: A platform ( hardware abstraction layer ) to run high-level system software and application software . A kernel is the core part of the operating system that defines an application programming interface for applications programs (including some system software) and an interface to device drivers. Device drivers and firmware , including computer BIOS or UEFI , provide basic functionality to operate and control

288-538: A rapidly declining unit price. The Award product line was focused on the low-margin, high volume Desktop product line, while the Phoenix TrustedCore BIOS was primarily successful in the high-end PC systems, and Servers. The revenues from the BIOS business continued to provide the capital to invest further in the applications business. By late 2005, it became clear that the BIOS revenues could not sustain

336-655: A significant increase in revenues from the Y2K product refreshes in the PC industry. However, by mid-2001, the PC industry suffered another downturn, and Phoenix was forced to reduce the less profitable product lines, such as the IA-64 effort, and close a number of redundant offices. Phoenix again focused on the core BIOS business for the next few years. During late 2002 and 2003, Phoenix began to develop specialized firmware-based applications. These applications often had components embedded in

384-786: A storage controller card . AMI sold its RAID assets to LSI Corporation in 2001, with only one employee from the RAID-division remaining with the AMI core team. AMI continued to focus on OEM and ODM business and technology. Its product line includes or has previously included AMIBIOS (a BIOS ), Aptio (a successor to AMIBIOS8 based on the UEFI standard), diagnostic software, AMI EC ( embedded controller firmware), MG-Series SGPIO backplane controllers (for SATA , SAS and NVMe storage devices), driver/firmware development, and MegaRAC ( BMC firmware). American Megatrends Inc. (AMI)

432-572: A windowed Debugger for DOS. These products only provided a small revenue stream to Phoenix during the early 1980s and the company did not significantly expand in size. After the success of the IBM PC , many companies began making PC clones . Some, like Compaq , developed their own compatible ROM BIOS , but others violated copyright by directly copying the PC's BIOS from the IBM PC Technical Reference Manual (appendix of

480-485: Is a product line of baseboard management controller firmware packages and formerly Service Processors providing Out-of-band , or Lights-out remote management of computer systems. These baseboard management controllers running MegaRAC firmware packages or service processors operate independently of the Operating System status or location, to manage and troubleshoot computers. AMIBIOS (also written as AMI BIOS)

528-620: Is an international hardware and software company, specializing in PC hardware and firmware . The company was founded in 1985 by Pat Sarma and Subramonian Shankar. It is headquartered in Building 800 at 3095 Satellite Boulevard in unincorporated Gwinnett County , Georgia , United States , near the city of Duluth , and in the Atlanta metropolitan area . The company started as a manufacturer of complete motherboards , positioning itself in

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576-475: Is handled without affecting data. It supports High-availability cluster , redundancy, scalability, replication, disaster recovery and multiple site backups. DuOS-M was commercial software developed by American Megatrends for Intel x86 -based computers using the Microsoft Windows operating system to provide a "dual operating system" environment in which the user can simultaneously deploy

624-499: Is not considered system software when it can be uninstalled without affecting the functioning of other software. Examples of such software are games and simple editing tools supplied with Microsoft Windows, or software development toolchains supplied with many Linux distributions. Some of the grayer areas between system and application software are web browsers integrated deeply into the operating system such as Internet Explorer in some versions of Microsoft Windows , or ChromeOS where

672-604: Is the IBM PC -compatible BIOS that was formerly developed and sold by American Megatrends since 1986. In 1994, the company claimed that 75% of PC clones used AMIBIOS. It is used on motherboards made by AMI and by other companies. American Megatrends had a strict OEM business model for AMIBIOS: it sold source code to motherboard manufacturers or customized AMIBIOS for each OEM individually, whichever business model they require. AMI does not sell to end users, and itself produces no end-user documentation or technical support for its BIOS firmware, leaving that to licensees. However,

720-801: The Android operating system in tandem with Microsoft Windows. Because DuOS-M has the capability to run both Windows and Android simultaneously, the user can switch between the two operating systems without having to dual boot or suspend operation of one operating system in order to utilize the other. DuOS-M supports key hardware peripherals in Windows including cameras, audio, microphone and sensors such as ambient light sensor, accelerometer , gyrometer, compass and orientation sensors. It also supports various screen sizes, resolutions, and screen orientation (portrait and landscape) along with 3D acceleration and HD video playback. The first version of DuOS-M

768-568: The DIP DOS operating system for the DIP Pocket PC aka Atari Portfolio in 1989. In 1996, Phoenix acquired Virtual Chips, Inc., a maker of synthesizable cores for PC peripherals, and Mountain View, California -based Award Software in 1998. Due to these expansions, Phoenix reduced its global work force by 5% by ending 38 jobs. Phoenix continued to grow steadily from the late 1990s, and saw

816-792: The El Torito standard. Phoenix was incorporated in Massachusetts in September 1979, and its headquarters are in Campbell, California . In 1979, Neil Colvin formed what was then called Phoenix Software Associates after his prior employer, Xitan , went out of business. Neil hired Dave Hirschman, a former Xitan employee. During 1980–1981, they rented office space for the first official Phoenix location at 151 Franklin Street, Boston , Massachusetts . In this same time period Phoenix purchased

864-683: The ACPI _OSI method, which is used by ACPI to determine the OS version (in case an ACPI patch only applies to one specific OS). In some cases, the OSI method caused problems on Linux systems, skipping code that was only executed on Windows systems. Foxconn and AMI worked together to develop a solution, which was included in later revisions of AMIBIOS. The issue affected motherboards with Intel Socket 775. Actual system behavior differed based on BIOS version, system hardware and Linux distribution . In October 2021 an issue

912-645: The BIOS APIs for a single, separate engineer—one with experience programming the Texas Instruments TMS9900 , not the Intel 8088 or 8086 —who had not been exposed to IBM BIOS source code . The single engineer developed code to mimic the BIOS APIs. By recording the audit trail of the two groups' interactions, Phoenix developed a defensibly non-infringing IBM PC compatible ROM BIOS. Because

960-513: The BIOS that allowed them to function in damaged PC systems. These included security applications for password hiding and authentication, PC backup and recovery applications, and basic diagnostic applications. Several applications were obtained through complete acquisitions of other companies, such as the SPEKE technology from Integrity Sciences, or the browser technology from Ravisent. The PC BIOS business continued its steady, but slow, growth despite

1008-548: The FailSafe, HyperSpace and eSupport.com products and would aim to refocus its business strategy on BIOS where it still retained a substantial majority of its revenue. On April 9, 2010 it was announced that Absolute Software would pay $ 6.9 million for Phoenix Technologies security technologies, including FailSafe and Freeze. In August 2010, Marlin Equity Partners, a Los Angeles-based private investment firm , acquired

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1056-528: The PC BIOS themselves as Compaq had. Phoenix licensed the BIOS to clone makers for $ 290,000. To reassure customers, the company obtained a $ 2 million insurance policy from The Hartford against copyright-infringement lawsuits. Phoenix's revenues grew by 100% in 1987, and the company shifted to licensing the BIOS on a per-machine basis instead of a flat fee. Competitors appeared, such as AMI BIOS . Phoenix shipped an IBM PC/AT -compatible BIOS six months after

1104-475: The StorTrends iTX storage management firmware platform. StorTrends offers synchronous, asynchronous and snap-assisted replication, thin provisioning , high-availability grouping and advanced caching. Reliability and performance is the key for any storage server. StorTrends iTX 2.8 is designed to support Storage Bridge Bay specification that provide Auto- Failover capability to ensure that any interruption

1152-521: The Windows and DOS PC diagnostics programs. Later versions of AMIDiag support UEFI, which allows diagnostics to be performed directly on the hardware components, without having to use operating system drivers or facilities. AMI's UEFI firmware solutions. Aptio V is AMI's current main UEFI firmware product. Aptio CommunityEdition is an open source UEFI firmware product. Aptio 4 is a now-discontinued previous version that has been succeeded by Aptio V. MegaRAC

1200-400: The browser functions as the only user interface and the only way to run programs (and other web browser their place). The operating system (prominent examples being Microsoft Windows , macOS , Linux , and z/OS ), allows the parts of a computer to work together by performing tasks like transferring data between memory and disks or rendering output onto a display device . It provides

1248-486: The company published two books on its BIOS in 1993 and 1994, written by its engineers. During powerup, the BIOS firmware displays an ID string in the lower-left-hand corner of the screen. This ID string comprises various pieces of information about the firmware, including when it was compiled, what configuration options were selected, the OEM license code, and the targeted chipset and motherboard. There are 3 ID string formats,

1296-400: The company refocused on the PC BIOS business and the couple of potentially profitable applications. In September, the company named Woodson "Woody" Hobbs as president and CEO of Phoenix Technologies. Hobbs had a history of turning struggling companies around. According to company documents, "prior to joining Phoenix, Hobbs served as president and CEO of Intellisync Corporation from 2002 until

1344-646: The company's acquisition by Nokia in February 2006. Under Hobbs' leadership, Intellisync became the number two wireless email company, increased its stock price by nearly ten times, and grew enterprise value from zero to over $ 430 million." By January 2008, Phoenix had posted higher-than-expected Q1 revenues and increased full year guidance. In 2008, Phoenix also acquired several companies: In 2009, Phoenix shut down their Engineering and Sales offices in Shanghai and Nanjing , China . Phoenix also laid off most of

1392-597: The computer's announcement, and also developed IBM PS/2 Micro Channel -compatible BIOS, including the ABIOS , and EISA compatible BIOS during 1988 and 1989. In 1987, Phoenix began the first of many expansion, acquisition, and collapse cycles. It acquired Softstyle, Inc, and Softset, Inc, and began a printer emulation product line, and a Phoenix publishing division. Phoenix also tripled the number of employees from late 1986 to 1989. Phoenix launched an IPO in June 1988 and made

1440-476: The core PC BIOS products, and prevented a hostile takeover bid by Norwood Partners Limited Partnership. By 1992, Phoenix was financially healthy enough to start another expansion and acquisition cycle. In January 1992, Phoenix acquired Quadtel, a leading BIOS supplier. The Quadtel BIOS code base was newer than the original Phoenix ROM BIOS code base, and the development effort switched to the Quadtel products. It

1488-575: The executive vice-president of this company. This partnership continued until 2001, when LSI Logic purchased the RAID Division of American Megatrends; American Megatrends then purchased all shares of the company owned by Sarma, making Shankar the majority owner. AMIDiag is a family of PC diagnostic utilities sold to OEMs only. The AMIDiag Suite was introduced in 1991 and made available for MS-DOS , Microsoft Windows and Unified Extensible Firmware Interface ( UEFI ) platforms. It includes both

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1536-480: The first for older AMIBIOS, and the second and third for the newer AMI Hi-Flex ("high flexibility") BIOS. These latter are displayed when the Insert key is pressed during power-on self-test. The original AMI BIOS did not encrypt the machine startup password, which it stored in non-volatile RAM. Therefore, any utility capable of reading a PC's NVRAM was able to read and to alter the password. The AMI WinBIOS encrypts

1584-415: The founder and early employees instant millionaires on paper. The stock price did not sustain its peak of 18¾, and by late 1989 it had plummeted to 3¾. In addition, the company posted a loss of $ 7.7 million in 1989, due primarily to the consolidation of the PC market, and Phoenix's unsuccessful branching out into collateral markets. In December 1989, Ron Fisher took over as CEO, and again the company focused on

1632-404: The hardware connected to or built into the computer. A user interface interacts with a computer. It can either be a command-line interface (CLI) or, since the 1980s, a graphical user interface (GUI). This is the part of the operating system the user directly interacts with; it is considered an application and not system software. Some organizations use the term systems programmer to describe

1680-449: The high-end segment. Its first customer was PCs Limited, later known as Dell Computer . As hardware activity moved progressively to Taiwan -based original design manufacturers , AMI continued to develop BIOS firmware for major motherboard manufacturers. The company produced BIOS software for motherboards (1986), server motherboards (1992), storage controllers (1995) and remote-management cards (1998). In 1993, AMI produced MegaRAID,

1728-427: The losses incurred by the applications business. The BIOS revenue stream was heavily leveraged through fully paid-up licenses, and by early 2006 this business model was no longer sustainable. Phoenix announced some of the largest losses in the company history, and went through another consolidation cycle. Several offices were closed and over 70% of the employees were laid off. By late 2006, after senior management changes,

1776-481: The manual incorporated assembly code listings). After Apple Computer, Inc. v. Franklin Computer Corp. IBM sued companies that it claimed infringed IBM's copyright. Clone manufacturers needed a legal, fully-compatible BIOS. To develop a legal BIOS, Phoenix used a clean room design . Engineers read the BIOS source listings in the IBM PC Technical Reference Manual . They wrote technical specifications for

1824-487: The outstanding shares of Phoenix Technologies for $ 139 million. System software System software is software designed to provide a platform for other software. Examples of system software include operating systems (OS) (like macOS, Linux, Android, and Microsoft Windows). Application software is software that allows users to do user-oriented tasks such as create text documents, play or develop games, create presentations, listen to music, draw pictures, or browse

1872-715: The programmers who wrote the Phoenix code never read IBM's reference manuals, nothing they wrote could have been copied from IBM's code, no matter how closely the two matched. This reverse engineering technique is commonly referred to as a " Chinese wall ". This story was portrayed in the TV show Halt and Catch Fire . The first Phoenix PC ROM BIOS was introduced in May 1984, which enabled OEMs such as Hewlett-Packard , Tandy Corporation , and AT&T Computer Systems to build essentially 100%-compatible clones without having to reverse-engineer

1920-778: The staff in those offices, although some of the managers were moved to other offices in Taiwan . Phoenix opened a new office in Bangalore, India and closed its office in Hyderabad, India . Most of the Hyderabad employees were given the option to move to the new Bangalore office. In late Q4 2009, Phoenix began exploring strategic alternatives for the products it had developed and purchased in its prior acquisition phase. On January 5, 2010, Phoenix announced it had hired GrowthPoint Technology partners to find alternative business strategies for

1968-595: The stored password, using a simple substitution cipher . By pressing the Delete key during power-on self-test when a prompt is displayed, the BIOS setup utility program is invoked. Some earlier AMIBIOS versions also included a cut-down version of the AMIDIAG utility that AMI also sold separately, but most later AMI BIOSes do not include this program as the BIOS DMI already incorporates detailed diagnostics. AMIBIOS

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2016-467: The time. WinBIOS was viewed favorably by Anand Lal Shimpi at AnandTech , but described by Thomas Pabst at Tom's Hardware as a "big disappointment", in part because of problems with distributing IRQ signals to every PCI and ISA expansion slot. In July 2008 Linux developers discovered issues with ACPI tables on certain AMIBIOS BIOSes supplied by Foxconn, ASUS, and MSI. The problem was related to

2064-438: The tune to " Happy Birthday ". The PC would remain halted, and the song would continue playing until a key was pressed, after which bootup would resume. The problem was caused by a virus-free Trojan , which was later resolved with firmware updates. The AMI WinBIOS was a 1994 update to AMIBIOS, with a graphical user interface setup screen that mimicked the appearance of Windows 3.1 and supported mouse navigation, unusual at

2112-512: The web. Examples are, computational science software, game engines, search engines, industrial automation, and software as a service application. In the late 1940s, application software was custom written by computer users to fit their specific hardware and requirements. System software was usually supplied by the manufacturer of the computer hardware and was intended to be used by most or all users of that system. Many operating systems come pre-packaged with basic application software. Such software

2160-465: Was formerly sold through distributors, not directly available from the manufacturer or from eSupport. AMI supplies both DOS and Windows firmware upgrade utilities for its own motherboards. eSupport only supplies a Windows upgrade utility. The StorTrends family of network-based backup and storage management software and hardware includes several NAS and iSCSI-based SAN servers with 4, 12, or 16 drive bays. AMI couples off-the-shelf hardware with

2208-488: Was founded in 1985 by Subramonian Shankar and Pat Sarma with funds from a previous consulting venture, Access Methods Inc. (also AMI). Access Methods was a company run by Pat Sarma and his partner. After Access Methods successfully launched the AMIBIOS, there were legal issues among the owners of the company, resulting in Sarma buying out his partners. Access Methods still owned the rights to the AMIBIOS. Sarma had already started

2256-712: Was rebranded as PhoenixBIOS. The original ROM BIOS code base was used on a joint development effort with David Keenan at IBM (called SurePath), but Phoenix did no further development work on the original code. Phoenix also expanded its presence in foreign markets. In 1993 Phoenix acquired SRI KK, a Phoenix distributor, and formed the Phoenix KK Japanese subsidiary. In addition, the offices in Taipei, and Europe were expanded in size. In 1994, Phoenix acquired Guildford, Surrey, UK-based DIP Research Ltd. and continued to expand European operations, who had previously developed

2304-418: Was released in June 2014. The software is available for download for a free 30-day trial, and is available for purchase for a complete license. On March 7, 2018, American Megatrends officially announced that it ceased development of DuOS-M. No further updates were being released at this time, including bug fixes and security patches. On November 13, 1993, some PCs with AMIBIOS firmware began bootup playing

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